Thursday, July 28, 2016

CAPE CHARLES, Va. (WVEC) -- A contract has been awarded for the construction of a new parallel tube to be added to the Thimble Shoal Channel Tunnel, one of two tunnels that make up the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel crossing.

The Dragados Team was awarded the more than $755 million project, which will begin construction in the fall of 2017. Total construction of the new parallel tunnel at the Thimble Shoal Channel is expected to take approximately five years.

The announcement comes after three and a half years of project development. The original plan was to move the Chesapeake Grill restaurant -- which currently sits on top of the existing tunnel at Island 1 and provides a scenic overlook of the water -- to a new man-made island and also create retail space and 200 additional parking spots. However, this expansion proved to be too costly, and plans for it were scrapped.